A Better World
by starlight.moon.princess
Summary: Dumbledore once said that death was nothing but the next great adventure. However, it is not an adventure he is willing to let Nicolas and Perenelle go on anytime soon. / AU, alternate ending to Philosopher's Stone


**For Camp Potter (Archery - write about death); Fanfiction, School of Imagination and Creativity (PDHPE, using the prompts love, Ron Weasley, an alternate ending to the Philsopher's Stone and resting); the If You Dare Challenge (764. It's The Past, Let's Not Talk About It) and the Legendary Gods and Goddesses Competition (Ra).**

**A/N: Much of the italicized portion at the beginning is either quoted from the first book or has been changed sightly to fit the situation. Needless to say, I own no part of it.**

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"_As for the Stone, well, I considered destroying it."_

"_Destroying it?" Harry gasped blankly. "But your friend – Nicolas Flamel –"_

_"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I had a little chat, and we seemed to agree that it was all for the best."_

_"But that means he and his wife would die, wouldn't they?"_

_"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they would die."_

_Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face._

_"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling._

"_Sir?" said Harry. "You said that you considered destroying it, not that you will destroy it."_

"_Ah, very good Harry! I had hoped you would pick up on that. Yes, after a long talk, Nicolas and I decided that there was much two people as old as the Flamels still had to offer the world. The Stone is very much still in existence, though I have learned my lesson this time. No one but the Flamels know where it is, so that there is no one who could betray its whereabouts."_

Albus Dumbledore walked out of the Hospital Wing, giving young Mr Ron Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger a smile as they rushed to their injured friend's bedside.

There was so much young Harry had asked that he had been unable to tell him – Harry deserved a few more years of a childhood untainted by the prophecy – but at least he had been able to set his heart to rest about the fate of both the Stone and his dear friends.

The conversation he had had with the two of them had been imprinted in his mind forever. No matter what he had told Harry, the sheer enormity of what they were willing to do to keep the world safe from Voldemort for a little while longer had moved him dearly.

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"If what you say is true Albus, and I do not doubt that it is, the Stone must be destroyed," Nicolas said, leaning forward and resting his chin on his palm. No one else would have caught it, but for someone who knew the alchemist as well as Albus did, it was an unmistakeable sign that Nicolas was both deeply disturbed and worried.

The three of them – Albus, Nicolas and Perenelle – were sitting in the middle of the dining room of the Flamels' home near the wizarding village of Raven's Nest, discussing the fate of the Philosopher's Stone.

"Nicolas, think about what you are saying," Albus said, shocked at what his friend was suggesting. "You know what the loss of the Stone would mean for you."

"Have you not always been the one to emphasize the importance of the greater good, Albus?" Perenelle asked in her soft voice, lending support to her husband's words.

"Indeed I have, Perenelle," Albus said, sounding troubled. "And I know that the destruction of the Stone seems to be the only way to stop it from reaching the hands of Lord Voldemort. Yet I am troubled at the thought of losing the two of you."

"You have often said that death is nothing but the next great adventure, Albus," a smiling Nicolas said as he wrapped his arms around his wife. "Do no worry about us. The prospect of dying does not cause ones who have lived as long as the two of us as much sorrow as you would expect it to. And this way, I know that will not have to be separated from my love for much time. No, if the Stone must be destroyed, it will be. Our lives are not of as much consequence as those of the rest of the world."

"I would argue that the individual is just as important as the collective, Nicolas," Albus said, smiling faintly as the two of them fell into a familiar pattern of friendly disagreement, "But it is not the thought of your reactions to impending death that worries me – I would expect that you know that I know the two of you better than that to think something of the sort.

"It has never been like you to be so reclusive with us, Albus," Perenelle said. "If there is something else that concerns you, we would like to know."

"I have already shared the contents of the Prophecy with you," Albus said, worry lining his face. "You know as well as I do that it is only a matter of time before Tom Riddle returns and attempts to pick up where he left off when Harry Potter defeated him."

"As worrying as that possibility is, Albus, I fail to see what that has anything to with our continued existence in the world."

"Between the two of you, you have more knowledge than could be found in any other two people in the world. Some you have shared with the world as a whole, but I know the two of you well. There is much you have never revealed for fear of it falling into the wrong hands, preferring to let it die out instead. There is much about Tom's actions during the first war that I do not yet understand, not least how he could have survived having the Killing Curse rebound on him. Harry was protected by his mother's love – Tom was not. By letting you destroy the Stone and effectively end you lives, I fear that we are losing knowledge that could help us understand Tom's motivations and actions, and ultimately contribute to true downfall," Albus explained.

Now, worry started to seep into Nicolas' expression. "Albus, you know as well as we do why we have not spoken of such things to anyone."

"Indeed I do, Nicolas, and trust me when I say I am loath to ask you to break your promises to yourselves now. But the situation is nothing short of a threat to the world. Besides, I am not asking you to reveal everything – only that which would be pertinent to this situation. It is part of the reason why I wish for the two of you to hold off on destroying the Stone – the knowledge is only a part of it, your perspective would be priceless as well."

"And if we were to agree to your proposal Albus, what then of the Stone?" Pernelle asked. "The events of the last year have shown that neither Hogwarts nor Gringotts is truly secure from Tom Riddle. It will take him time to rematerialize, but when he does, he will undoubtedly come after the Stone once again if it still exists. If the two most secure building in Britain cannot keep it safe, how are we expected to do so? We cannot transfer it overseas – we need it close at hand to obtain the Elixir, which, as you well know, cannot be stored for more than a year before it loses its life extending properties."

"That at least I have thought of, dear lady," Albus said, finally offering his old friends a smile as the conversation took a turn to something he was more comfortable with. "I decided against the use of the Fidelius Charm thinking it would be obvious to Voldemort, who was almost deceived by it once. Now I can see my mistake. My advice to be to hide the location of the Stone from all the world save yourselves – the two people who will never have any cause to reveal it unless you deem it necessary."

Nicolas and Perenelle exchanged looks, conversing in silence in a way they had perfected over their many centuries together. A few moments later, Nicolas spoke.

"I cannot say that I am entirely comfortable with the risks we are taking with leaving the Stone intact, Albus," he said, "But we are in agreement that continuing living would have far more advantages that letting ourselves die. We will perform the Charm as soon as you return the Stone to us, and we will help you in any way that we can to prevent another war in the future."

Albus bowed his head in thanks. "Now that we have agreed on that topic," he said, feeling lighter than he had expected to when he first entered the home, "Would either of you mind terribly if I changed the subject to something lighter?"

"Not at all," Perenelle laughed as she pushed her husband to conjure drinks for the three of them. "I believe you had promised to tell us all about the exploits of young Harry Potter the last time you were here, and I for one am all ears!"

* * *

Somehow, knowing that his friends would live felt like he had just managed to dodge an _Avada Kedavra_ aimed straight at his heart.

Albus did not know what would have happened if he had allowed the Stone to be destroyed, but his gut – which had only rarely failed him over the past century and a half – told him that it would not have been good.

This way, he knew that he had two of the brightest minds of the last millennium backing the side of the Light. Nicolas and Perenelle did not often take sides when it came to wars, preferring to let those who were not as nearly immortal themselves fight it out. But when they did decide to descend to the strategy table, Albus could not think of a war that had been won by those they opposed.

Albus was pulled out of his thoughts by the appearance of a harried looking Minera in front of him.

"Oh thank Merlin, Albus, there you are," she sighed in relief. "I have been looking for you all over the school. Minister Fudge-" Here her voice sounded as though she was forcing herself to remain civil while talking about the Minister. "– is in your office, demanding to know why Harry Potter was in a life threatening coma for three days. I tried to tell him that you were busy, but you know how that man is. He insists on talking to you before he leaves the school, and I cannot stand to listen to him for another moment."

"Calm down Minerva," he said, smiling slightly as the hassled state of his deputy. "I shall go and talk to him immediately."

There would always be work for Albus Dumbledore to do, always messes and tangles to sort out and untangle. He was only human, and every once in a while he would slip up and make the wrong decision.

In another world, that mistake would have happened while he was talking to the Flamels. In another world, he would have let them die.

But in this one, that mistake would never happen. In convincing the Flamels that the need for them was greater than the need to destroy the Philosopher's Stone, Albus Dumbledore had set the course to change the world.

The simple beat of a butterfly's wings could change the future of the world irrevocably, and the Flamels exerted a much greater force on the world than a simple butterfly. It would be their knowledge of the lost dark arts that would prevent many deaths during the Second Wizarding War, preventing it from becoming the bloodbath it could have been.

Unaware of these facts, however, in a castle somewhere in Scotland, Albus Dumbledore walked to meet the Minister of Magic, never knowing the enormity of his actions.

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**I hope you guys liked it! Please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)  
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